


In hope of better days

by ChessQueen27



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:54:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27049768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChessQueen27/pseuds/ChessQueen27
Summary: Their separation was having its toll. Their anxieties heightened. But would Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye find alternate ways to keeping in touch after Führer King Bradley’s move?
Relationships: Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	In hope of better days

_ You understand well. You know what will happen if you let this out. Your companions and Colonel Mustang will not come out unscathed. _

_ I will always be watching you from the shadows. _

“It seems you let the cat out of the bag, Lieutenant Hawkeye...”

“No, I haven’t... I haven’t said a word...”

“How do you explain, this?!” Pride, in its shadowy form, growled as the dark miasma surrounding him spat a familiar figure to her feet.

“Colonel! Wha-“

“Ah ah ah, Miss Riza... You have broken our little deal... I believe our terms were clear enough, from the very beginning,” the homunculus smirked as he lifted the colonel in the air with one of its shadowy tentacles.

“Don’t you dare touch him! He’s done nothing wrong! Colonel?! Colonel speak to me!” she screamed back, as to her disdain she realised that she was being held back by the shadows.

Letting out a snicker, Pride slithered one of his arms round Roy’s neck, startling him into consciousness at his touch.Opening his eyes in realisation, he raised his head slowly to look at his Lieutenant.

“Lieutenant...”

“Colonel! Let him go! Roy!”

“May I remind you that I told you - “he will not come out unscathed...” Pride smirked as he tightened his grip on Roy’s neck, making him reach up frantically to strip that hold off with both of his hands.

“It’s no use, Colonel... say goodbye to your precious little woman...” he murmured, loud enough for Riza to hear.

“No! Roy, no! NO!” she screamed in horror as she watched Pride practically choke the man right before her eyes, then shove him unceremoniously at her knees.

“And this is only the beginning, Lieutenant...” Pride grinned as Riza fell to her knees, scrambling forward to cradle Roy’s unconscious form in her arms.

“No... NOOO!”

-

As she sat up in her bed after being startled awake by that horrible nightmare, Riza Hawkeye ran a hand nervously along her hair and then slowly pat Black Hayate as her heartbeat and breathing eased down back to a normal pace.“That was horrible...” she mumbled to herself as she shrugged off that sick feeling and slipped out of bed to head into the kitchen for a cup of coffee and a quick toast before getting ready for work.

Work.

Things had changed so much since the Führer had dispatched the transfer orders to all of their group. Every single one of them had been separated from Roy - Falman to the North, Fuery to the South, Breda to the West... and herself.

“The office of the Führer?!” she had muttered the first time she read the transfer letter, and she still remembered Roy’s horror as he reread the letter multiple times that day in utter shock and disgust.

“They’re doing it on purpose...” he confessed to her later that evening while at his place.

“What do you mean?” she asked while both were resting on the couch, as Roy lay his head on her lap.

“They know you’re all my weak point. Especially you...” he whispered as he reached up to pull her down for a kiss.

“I can’t believe they’re doing this...”

“And yet they are... he’s going to keep you hostage in case I stray... That bastard...”

“Don’t do anything reckless, please.”

“I won’t. You know I won’t. I don’t want him to hur- listen, if he touches or harms you in any way, you need to let me know immediately...” he told her, sitting back up.

“And what? You’d kill Bradley in retaliation? Roy please... we just have to play along and see how it goes...” she replied. “And try to limit our meetings and encounters as much as possible... to dispel any suspicions in them.”

“I hate this... I hate all of it, but... I won’t let them stop us...”

“Of course not...” she smiled back. “I still need to watch your back...”

“Always...”

-

“Good morning Sir. Tea?”

“Good morning to you, Lieutenant and yes please.”

“Yes Sir. Your schedule for today is on your desk, Sir, as are the documents you need to sign.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant... as always,” Bradley nodded as he sat down at his desk for another day’s work.

Not being around Roy during her work day was something she found terribly difficult to get used to - his snarky comments, his procrastinating persona (when in actual fact he used to get a lot of work done on a daily basis... he just hated the paperwork), his stolen smirks, his smiles, the secret winks... it was tough not having him around. Not being able to watch his back.As lunch time grew near, she remembered the note she found in her letterbox that same morning.

_ Let’s meet at the Rosewater Café at 13:00. _

_ Lots of love, V. _

“This is Vanessa’s handwriting,” she smiled as she slipped the note back in her pockets. “I’ll be heading out for lunch break, Sir.”

“Sure sure, Lieutenant. See you later,” he nodded as Riza saluted and walked out to head towards the small cafeteria not far from Central Command.

“RIZA!”

“Hey Vanessa, long time no see!” she greeted Roy’s foster sister as they hugged warmly.

“You haven’t been at our place in a while, we miss you!” Vanessa chuckled as both sat down and immediately ordered a coffee and a drink respectively.

“Too busy with work and other stuff, you know me,” she sighed as Hayate settled down next to her feet.

“Workaholic. Just like another person I know...” she mumbled. “I don’t even know how you do it!”

“Duty calls,” she smiled as the waiter set the coffee in front of her. “Thank you.”

“Anyway, you know you’re always welcome. To catch up and stuff...” Vanessa nodded as she took a sip from her iced tea. “Chris misses you.”

“I do too, truly... need to come over sometimes soon...”

“Yeah! Even to distress and have a laugh,” she grinned back. “So how much is your new boss stressing you?”

“A bit... but it’s alright for now... expected more than anything... and how’s work for you?”

“Same same. Chris is a slave driver, but nothing new there, we still love her,” she chuckled.

“She’s always been like that.”

“Mm-hmm...” Vanessa hummed back, making sure to avoid mentioning someone very specific in their conversation, in case they were being watched. After a few more minutes of casual chit chat and a couple of laughs, both women got back up and exchanged a quick hug before parting ways, as Riza had to head back to Bradley’s office for the afternoon. As she headed up the stairs leading to the main gate while Hayate trotted ahead of her, she nonchalantly placed her right hand in her pocket, to find a small piece of neatly folded paper.

“What the...” she mumbled as she stopped dead in her tracks and unfolded the paper, chuckling as soon as she recognised the handwriting instantly.

_ Mind joining me for a drink tonight, Elizabeth?  _

_ Miss you, R. _

“You idiot...” she smiled to herself as she neatly folded back the paper and placed it back in her pockets. “Maybe if I head to the bar... undercover... we could...” she thought, before flashes of that nightmare came back to her mind. “God, that won’t happen... it definitely won’t... it’s just my anxiety and all...” she reassured herself as she scanned her surroundings and headed straight into the building. “We’ll see...”

-

“Let’s hope she’ll be there...” Roy said to himself as he fixed his hair and took one quick look at his reflection in the small mirror he had in his bathroom. “Not too bad...” he smiled, as he fetched his car keys and headed out of his apartment. Dressed in his signature suit, coat and scarf, the young Colonel got inside his car and drove all the way to his foster mother’s bar in downtown Central City.

Evenings in Central City were mostly filled with couples strolling quietly along the streets or groups of friends having a relaxing evening at a bar or restaurant - most people living in Central were linked to the military in some form of another, so the evenings were a calm affair - it almost seemed like normal city. Roy always felt that slight pang of jealousy whenever he spotted couples cuddled to one another, sharing a giggle or simply holding each other’s hand - he and Riza had never had that privilege. They fought a war together instead. They went through hell together instead.

Humming as he closed his car’s door after parking close to the bar, he swiftly made his way to his mother’s place, chuckling as the chime marked his entrance at Madame Christmas’.

“Good evening everyone,” Roy greeted as Chris turned from the bar to check who had just come in.

“‘Evening Roy-boy, welcome back... it’s been a while...” she smirked, winking back at him, earning a chuckle from the man who was still her little boy in her eyes.

“ROYYYYY YOU’RE HERE AT LAST!” Vanessa exclaimed as soon as she recognised him and lunged at him for a hug. “I missed you! You’ve been rare these days, it’s been too long!” she told him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his cheek.Smiling, she moved her lips close to his ear and whispered: “She’s upstairs already, in case you’re wondering...”

“Thank you,” he whispered back, brightly, before turning to Madame Christmas. “Been too long, I suppose. It’s always too damn busy at work, you know,” he replied as Vanessa gave him another kiss and sat down at the bar, as Roy pulled a stool and sat down by her side.

“Your usual?”

“Please... neat, no ice.”

“Sure,” she chuckled. “Tired?”

“Exhausted actually...” Roy sighed dramatically. “Mind if I have a quick nap upstairs?”

“Sure Kiddo,” Chris answered as she handed him his glass of whiskey.“You can spend the night here if you like... bedroom’s all yours.”

“Yay!”

“Really now, Vanessa,” Roy laughed in return as she rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m only having a long nap, nothing fancy.”

“I know but it’s nice having you around... especially for breakfast...” she grinned back as Roy yawned by her side.

“Go rest Kid, you’re dozing off already,” Chris smiled as she basically shooed him off to head upstairs.

“Might as well...” he nodded as he took his glass off the bench and waved back at the two. “Good night.”

“‘Night!” Chris greeted back before looking at Vanessa once again, as Roy opened the door to head inside.

“Make sure no clients head upstairs.”

“Aye aye, Captain!”

“Oh dear Lord, you’re still a child - no wonder he adores you,” she laughed to herself as Vanessa grinned back.

-

After heading up the narrow wooden staircase leading to the few rooms on the first floor, Roy smiled at the memories of his childhood that the place brought back. Taking the last swig from his whiskey and setting down the glass next to the door, he knocked gently, waiting for a reply.Hearing the creaky steps from the other side of the door, Roy smiled as the doorknob turned and the door slowly opened.

“Hi-“

Barely having even finished uttering her greeting, Roy stepped forward to kiss her hard; then as he took a few steps inside (kicking the door shut in the process), he made the two of them topple unceremoniously onto the bed and burst in a fit of giggles.

“I suppose you missed me.”

“Terribly... God... too much...” Roy whispered as he gazed at her while they were resting on their sides. “I hate being away from you so much...” he told her as he raised one of his hands to her face, and caressed it gently.

“Me too,” she whispered back as she closed her eyes to savour his touch. “It’s still damn dangerous, Roy...” she mumbled, knowing fully well that they were constantly being watched by the enemy. The warning was still there and in full force, hanging like a guillotine over their heads.

“I know... but really... I missed you,” he whispered as he kissed her once more and pulled her closer to him, while she wrapped her arms around him. She missed everything - his voice, his touch, his smile... his kisses, his cuddles, the way he nuzzled against her neck, the way he chuckled against her skin... his hold. She missed him.

“Roy...” she whispered back as she caressed his hair slowly as he placed a few kisses on her neck.

“Mmm...”

“I missed you too...”

“You know how much I hate him for all this, fuck that son of a bi-“, he mumbled as Riza gently placed a finger against his lips.

“I’d rather not,” she smiled as he kissed her finger, making her smile.“Enough talk about that, even shadows may have ears...”

“Mmm... may I have the privilege to call you my Elizabeth then?”

“Yes...” Riza purred back before Roy rolled her onto her back and kissed her once more. “May I?” he smiled as he tugged at her shirt playfully.

“Since when do you ask me for permission,” she giggled back.

“Well, my lady, I’m only being courteous,” he smirked in return.

“Of course you can...” 

-

“I could get used to these clandestine, undercover meetings,” Roy chuckled some time later as the two were now resting in each other’s arms, with Riza lazily caressing the scar on his side as Roy ran a hand through her hair. “Meeting a one Elizabeth Grumman...”

“You know no one has to know about this...”

“No one will...” he reassured her, before pausing mid-caress. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes... just, be careful, please... and I don’t mean this... I mean about everything. They haven’t separated all of us trivially.”

“They’re scared of us. As they should be. Being together gives us strength, they think divided we’ll fall... they’re so mistaken.”

“You sound pretty sure of it...”

“Their strategy has pitfalls everywhere and you know it. We have to remain vigilant. Always.”

“Yes...” she nodded as she closed her eyes and held him closer.

“Comfy?”

“Mm-hmm...” Riza hummed in return as he leaned down to place a kiss on her hair.

“I wish we could do this everyday.”

“Maybe when all this is over...”

“Maybe...”

“Rest up now, Roy.”

“Love you...” he murmured as Riza reached up to play with the ring hanging with his military dog tag. A reminder of that promise they made to one another after Ishval, in hope of better days.

“Love you too... always.”


End file.
